Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Danaher Corporation $DHR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 32,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Danaher during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Danaher by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 127 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Danaher during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DHR. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Danaher in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $205.00 price objective on Danaher in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Danaher from $240.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. DZ Bank started coverage on Danaher in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Danaher from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Danaher has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.61.

Danaher Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $195.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $138.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81. Danaher Corporation has a 1 year low of $160.93 and a 1 year high of $242.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $178.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.69.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $5.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. Danaher had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 10.91%. Danaher’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that Danaher Corporation will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Danaher Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. Danaher’s payout ratio is currently 30.95%.

About Danaher

Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) is a global science and technology company that designs, manufactures and markets products and services for the life sciences, diagnostics, and environmental and applied markets. The company organizes its operations into business segments focused on Life Sciences, Diagnostics, and Environmental & Applied Solutions, supplying instruments, reagents, software and related services that support research, clinical testing, biopharmaceutical development, and industrial and environmental monitoring.

Products and services in Danaher’s portfolio include analytical and diagnostic instruments, laboratory consumables and reagents, digital and software solutions for workflow and data management, field and industrial monitoring equipment, and service and maintenance programs.